by Ava Winters
“I demand to speak to your supervisor,” Mr. McAdams yelled, his face becoming redder with each word. “Stagecoaches should leave the station in top condition. It is unacceptable that these types of vehicles are being used.”
“Father, I think that it might be best if we get these young ladies back to the ranch as soon as possible. It is quite warm and I’m sure that they are weary from their travels,” Ian said, obviously trying to divert Mr. McAdams’ attention.
Mr. McAdams looked at Luisa and then at Amanda as if seeing for the first time that there were two of them, instead of just the one young woman that he had expected.
His glanced at Amanda with a sneer, obviously thinking that she was a servant to Luisa, which made her frown. For the first time in her life, she was getting a taste of how servants were sometimes treated by the rich, and she didn’t like it. He looked back at Luisa, totally ignoring Amanda in the process.
“You didn’t need to bring a servant, Miss Wright.”
“Luisa acts as a companion to me. We travel together all of the time,” Luisa answered.
“We have plenty of young women who can be a companion to you while you are visiting. I will immediately arrange to send your … companion back to Albertson, and then we can be on our way.”
Luisa gave him her best Amanda glare. “Luisa has been a companion with me since we were young girls. I insist that she come with me. I won’t feel comfortable in your home without someone I know.”
It was obvious that Mr. McAdams did not like the fact that Luisa had rejected his demand. He opened his mouth to retort, but Ian began to load the three trunks into the back of a nearby carriage. “Father, let’s go.”
Mr. McAdams turned his glare on his son. “Why are you loading those trunks? Get the driver to do it.”
“Why shouldn’t I do something that I am perfectly capable of performing?” Ian asked easily, but he gave an unreadable look at his father.
Luisa walked to the carriage and Amanda followed. She tried not to feel impressed at the way Ian was taking charge of things. Obviously, he had changed since she first met him four years ago.
But even though she was impressed at his obvious changes, she still didn’t want to be tied to him in marriage. For one thing, she definitely didn’t want Mr. McAdams as her father-in-law. He was not a likable man.
Ian helped Luisa and then Amanda inside the back of the carriage. Both men climbed in front and Mr. McAdams slapped the reins on the backs of two beautiful bay horses. The carriage immediately began to move down the dirt street and out of town.
Amanda settled herself against the plush carriage bench and smiled to herself. So far, her plan was working. As Mr. McAdams guided the horses, he leaned forward and said something to Ian that she couldn’t hear.
She glanced at Luisa who was looking around at the surroundings and scenery as if she found it all very fascinating. Luisa was doing a good job acting like her. She hadn’t needed to say a word.
They drove for a few minutes in silence while the two men in front of them continued to talk softly to each other. After another few minutes, she nudged Luisa and gave a subtle nod towards the two men.
Luisa looked at her with a question in her eyes.
“You need to talk more,” Amanda whispered.
Luisa nodded her understanding. Amanda knew that her friend was used to being quiet. It was going to be a huge change for her to force herself to talk, but she needed to do so, in order to keep up their charade.
“How far away is the ranch from here?” Luisa spoke up.
Mr. McAdams glanced back at her, as if surprised that she had asked a question. Was the man expecting Luisa to stay silent unless she was spoken to? If he was, he was going to have a rude awakening. Amanda could always find something to talk about and Luisa was going to have to do the same.
It was Ian who spoke up. “We will get there in about thirty minutes.”
Luisa smiled at him and then looked intently at what looked like a cattle ranch that they were passing. “This part of Texas is very beautiful.”
“Well, we like to think so.” It was Ian who answered again.
Luisa became silent and Amanda realized that Luisa must have decided that she had done her best to make conversation, so her job was done.
Luisa kept her attention on the ranches and small farms that they drove by and refused to look at Amanda when she nudged her, trying to encourage her to talk again, like she would have. Amanda finally gave up and turned her attention to the scenery they were passing. She could think of at least ten questions she could have asked, and had to bite her tongue to keep from speaking.
She wanted to know how big Wilbourne was and how far the nearest city was from the town. She saw a pink flower that she didn’t recognize and wanted to ask if they knew the name of it.
Her attention fell on the two horses that were pulling the carriage at a brisk pace, and she wanted to ask what their names were and if they had been racing horses at one time in their lives.
When they finally arrived at the entrance of the Thunder Valley Ranch, Amanda couldn’t help but be impressed. It was obvious that the ranch and its land were kept in top condition.
They quickly passed multiple fenced paddocks, and she noticed that the wood had been whitewashed which she thought looked quite nice. Amanda wondered how long that would have taken and how often they needed to do that particular job. She could see a few mares with their foals in some fields that were further away.
They drove by a very large racing track which she knew was used to help train the horses. Her father had two of his own on their ranch.
Mr. McAdams pulled the carriage right in front of a large house. Amanda tried not to be amazed at the beautiful structure. From what she could tell, it was almost twice as large as her own home. It had a Spanish look to it, being built with local brown stone with a reddish tint. She could tell that it had two floors and that there were at least two wings.
Ian helped Luisa out from the carriage and even took Amanda’s hand to help her. She was glad to see that Ian at least had manners, not like his father who had totally ignored her and Luisa since objecting to her presence when they first arrived in Wilbourne.
A young man walked towards them. He wore plain black pants and a crisp white shirt, letting Amanda know that he was a servant.
“Good afternoon, Mr. McAdams,” he said in a monotone voice.
“Make sure that the two large trunks are taken inside. The housekeeper will tell you what room they should be in.”
“What about the smaller trunk?” the young man asked.
“Take it over to the servants’ quarters. Miss Amanda’s companion can stay there,” Mr. McAdams responded.
Luisa cleared her throat. “Mr. McAdams. I must insist that Luisa stay with me,” she said as firmly as possible.
Amanda tried not to laugh. Her friend was doing a great job of not letting him intimidate her into doing what he wanted. It was a side to Luisa that she hadn’t ever seen before.
Mr. McAdams looked at her in surprise. “Why is that? She will be perfectly fine in the servants’ quarters. I give you my word that she will be available to you whenever you need her, although I do need to remind you that I have already arranged for a maid to attend to your needs.”
Amanda could tell that Luisa wasn’t sure how to respond to Mr. McAdams’ words. It was almost as if he was talking down to Luisa, as if he didn’t think that she could make her own decisions.
It was another sign that Amanda definitely didn’t want to be married to Ian. If she did, she knew that she would be treated like she didn’t have a thought in her head.
“Thank you, Mr. McAdams, for the offer of a maid, but A…, Luisa must stay with me. I would be much more comfortable.”
Mr. McAdams stared at her for a moment and Amanda had to wonder if anyone had ever stood up to him before.
“Let her companion stay with her, Father. What is it going to hurt?” Ian broke in.
“Ok
ay,” Mr. McAdams finally agreed with a slow and careful nod. “As long as you agree to the real reason why you are here.”
“Of course.” Luisa gave him a regal nod. Amanda again had to bite her tongue in order to not laugh.
Suddenly, Mr. McAdams looked at her for a long uncomfortable moment and Amanda began to wonder if he suspected that Luisa wasn’t really who he thought she was.
Chapter 8
Amanda breathed a sigh of relief when Mr. McAdams turned away and strode purposefully towards the large house. Another boy appeared and climbed into the carriage. He directed the horses towards a nearby barn.
The two women began to follow Mr. McAdams into the house but stopped when Ian cleared his throat behind them.
“Miss Amanda, I have some things I need to take care of, but I’ll see you at dinner this evening.”
“That sounds delightful,” Luisa said pleasantly. “I’ll look forward to it.”
As he walked away, Amanda noticed that Luisa watched as Ian left. She cleared her throat and gave her friend a glare. She wasn’t supposed to be so nice to him. Luisa looked at her and her face flushed.
“Come on,” Luisa said. “Let’s go inside and get settled.”
The moment they stepped inside, they were greeted by an older woman.
“Welcome to Thunder Valley Ranch,” the woman said with a formal smile. “I’m Mrs. Hatch, the McAdams’ housekeeper.”
“Hello. It’s nice to meet you,” Luisa responded. “I’m Amanda Wright and this is my companion Luisa Lopez.”
Mrs. Hatch looked at Amanda briefly before turning her attention to Luisa. “Mr. McAdams did mention that your companion is to stay with you instead of the servants’ quarters.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Luisa said.
Amanda could tell that Mrs. Hatch did not approve of the arrangement Luisa wanted and she hoped that the woman would just go along with the new plan. She gave a soft sigh as the housekeeper turned away.
“Follow me, then,” Mrs. Hatch ordered.
Luisa followed Mrs. Hatch up a set of stairs and down two hallways. Amanda trailed them, being careful to stay a few steps behind Luisa like a dutiful companion might act. Mrs. Hatch finally stopped in front of a closed door and opened it.
“This will be your room during your stay, Miss Amanda.”
Mrs. Hatch walked inside and pointed to a closed door on the other side of the room. “That door leads to a small room that your companion can use.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Hatch. This will be perfect,” Luisa said.
“Would you like me to show you around the room?” Mrs. Hatch asked.
“No thank you,” Luisa answered. “I’ll be fine.”
Mrs. Hatch gave a short nod and then left the room. As soon as the door closed behind the housekeeper, Amanda turned to her friend.
“Things are working out just splendidly,” Amanda gushed. “Don’t you think?”
Luisa didn’t look at all happy. “I’m so nervous, Amanda. I’m afraid that Mr. McAdams already suspects something.”
“Oh, you are just worrying too much,” Amanda said with a wave of her hand, dismissing Luisa’s concerns. “I’m sure that he doesn’t suspect a thing.” She walked over to a fancy oak dressing table and touched a silver brush and comb that sat on its corner. “It was a nice touch, insisting that I stay with you. That way it will be easier to make plans when we need to. I wasn’t expecting that.”
“I didn’t think that you’d want to stay with all the other servants,” Luisa explained.
“I did notice that Ian couldn’t keep his eye off you,” Amanda said.
“He couldn’t?” Luisa looked at Amanda with surprise. “I hadn’t noticed, but if that is true, remember he really thinks that I’m you.”
“Please remember our plan. You can’t allow Ian to begin to like you. You need to do everything you can to discourage him. I still don’t want to marry him. I can tell that he is still too stodgy and boring even though he does seem to have changed. I would wither away in this house if we married.”
“I know. I’ll remember,” Luisa reassured her.
There was a knock on the door and Amanda exchanged a glance with Luisa before she called out, “Come in.”
A young girl entered. She glanced at Amanda and then gave Luisa a slight curtsy. “I’m here to help you with your clothing. I’m to be your maid during your stay here.”
“What is your name?” Luisa asked.
The young girl looked startled at Luisa’s question. Amanda could tell that very few people asked her that question in this house.
“It’s Mary Jo, miss.”
Amanda could tell that Luisa wanted to send the maid on her way. She was aware that Luisa would prefer to take care of her own clothes, but Amanda hoped that Luisa would understand that if she did send the maid away, it would cause raised eyebrows.
Luisa hesitated before nodding her head. “I would appreciate the help. Thank you.”
“I’ll take care of my own things,” Amanda spoke up, knowing that she would be expected to anyway.
The young girl only nodded and opened one of the large trunks. She carefully began to hang up the many dresses Amanda had brought, and that Luisa was now going to be wearing.
Once the maid left, Luisa helped Amanda hang up her own clothes. The room that Amanda was to use was quite small, really more like a closet than a bedroom. Luisa immediately dismissed the room.
“The bed in my room is large enough that we can both use it,” she declared.
Amanda knew that she shouldn’t accept Luisa’s offer. But the room was so small, she knew that she would have a hard time sleeping in it. There wasn’t even a window. She would feel like the walls would be closing in on her. She wasn’t used to such small rooms and she suspected that Luisa understood that.
“That’s a great idea,” Amanda agreed with relief.
They decided to take a rest before dinner that evening. She was surprised that Luisa instantly fell asleep, but Amanda couldn’t get herself to relax. She finally got up and walked over to one of the windows in the bedroom.
There was a bench under it with a comfortable looking cushion. She sat down, curling her legs under her. She could see for miles from where she was sitting, and she tried to imagine what her life would be like if she woke up to this view every morning.
Everything was green, which surprised her. This time of year in Texas, most of the landscape was brown and dull, at least it was in Albertson.
She found it interesting that it was much different in Thunder Valley Ranch, even though it was only two hours away from her home. The ranch had more green grass and wildflowers on it, showing that this area had received more rain that summer than Albertson had, at least so far.
Different types of trees had been planted, offering many areas of shade from the hot sun. An entire row of oak trees had been planted about twenty feet away along the back of the house. She knew that they helped deflect bad weather in the wintertime and kept the house cool in the summer.
The windows in the bedroom she was in faced west and she could see the sun beginning its descent towards the horizon. She wondered what the night sky would look like. Would she see the same stars she saw at Whispering Horse Ranch? And would she still be in this room the next night or would the McAdams’ figure out that she had switched places and promptly send them back to Albertson? Her father would be angry!